weakness

American  

[week-nis] / ˈwik nɪs /

noun

• weaknesses
  plural

1. the state or quality of being weak; lack of strength, firmness, vigor, or the like; feebleness.

   Synonyms:

   fragility

   Antonyms:

   strength

2. an inadequate or defective quality, as in a person's character; slight fault or defect.

   to show great sympathy for human weaknesses.

   Synonyms:

   flaw

3. a self-indulgent liking or special fondness, as for a particular thing.

   I've always had a weakness for the opera.

   Synonyms:

   appetite, hunger, passion, penchant

4. an object of special desire; something very difficult to resist.

   Chocolates were her weakness.

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weakness British  

/ ˈwiːknɪs /

noun

1. the state or quality of being weak

2. a deficiency or failing, as in a person's character

3. a self-indulgent fondness or liking

   a weakness for chocolates

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weakness Idioms  

1. see have a weakness for.

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Synonym Usage

See fault.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonweakness
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• weaknesses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of weakness

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English waikenes, weikenes. See weak, -ness

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Explanation

The point where something fails to work properly or to hold up is its weakness. If a building crumbles in a storm, it's probably because of a weakness — a flaw or defect — in its structure. Weakness can indicate a physical weakness, like a chair with one wobbly leg, or flaw in an idea, like a plan for a lemonade stand that doesn't include any cups for serving the lemonade. People can show weakness too, when they are helpless to take action. The origin of weakness can be traced all the way back to its Proto-Indo-European root of weik, "to bend."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

weakness weaknesses

England will need to locate a weakness by the time the Ashes begins.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

This weakness meant that the original algorithm's mathematical guarantee applied only when the points were sufficiently far apart.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

Intel on Thursday said that persistent weakness in demand for PCs, spurred by rising memory prices, was partly to blame for a forecast that came short of what analysts had been expecting.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

Chipmaker Intel was the hardest hit, with its shares sinking as much as 30 percent after it gave a weaker-than-expected revenue forecast for the fourth quarter, citing weakness in the PC market and manufacturing bottlenecks.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

“An Achilles heel is a weakness, and you’ve got one.”

From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman

He said that despite the DfE "consulting widely" during the development of the strategy, the PAC found "that significant weaknesses had undermined its implementation".

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

In the attack, an anonymous internet address attempted to target weaknesses in one of Amazon's decoy or "honeypot" systems, the company's security chief CJ Moses said.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

PHP sits underneath popular web design platforms, so the weaknesses potentially affect a vast range of websites, from online stores and news outlets to government services.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

“A very, very frank analysis of a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses is a part of every executive search,” said Martha Heller, CEO of technology executive recruiting firm Heller Search Associates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Perhaps that is not possible for anyone. But it has been the study of my life to avoid those weaknesses which often expose a strong understanding to ridicule.”

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

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Related Words

• deficiency
• failing
• flaw
• fragility
• frailty
• gap
• instability
• lack
• lapse
• shortcoming
• vulnerability

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